


The Shadow - alternate ending

by ladymischief, vaderina



Series: The Shadow [2]
Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: BAMF!Newt, Dark!Newt, Happy Ending, M/M, Sad!Graves, Sad!Theseus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-03
Updated: 2017-07-03
Packaged: 2018-11-22 22:44:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11389965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladymischief/pseuds/ladymischief, https://archiveofourown.org/users/vaderina/pseuds/vaderina
Summary: An alternate ending/continuation to The Shadow with ladymischief.





	The Shadow - alternate ending

**Author's Note:**

> This was a series of comment ficlets ladymischief and I played around with as an alternate ending/continuation to The Shadow. You might want to read that before embarking on this. Not beta read and more or less copy/pasted from the comments so apologies for the slightly disjointed style.

ladymischief:

I can't help but feel that Newt and Percival will eventually cross paths again. And maybe Percy will recoil with this feeling of  _wrongness_  that he simply can't place. But I imagine that he will fall for Newt all over again because the thought of Newt beside him, in his house, leaning against the kitchen counter with a cup of tea in one hand, and coffee in the other, extended towards him-- it just-- it seemed  _so right_. The image was seared behind his eyelids, imprinted in his mind alongside another dozen- and he didn't  _understand, damnit_. Why did his heart feel like someone had just punched a hole through it, and his stomach like he had been forced to ingest poison? Newt Scamander, his mind supplied, had no business making him feel the way he did.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, was a tired voice that whispered and warned to stay away. For his sake or for Newt's, he wasn't sure. But as fate seemed to find great amusement in making his life as difficult as possible, he couldn't help but be drawn in by the strange man with a suitcase of even stranger creatures. This man who had freckles that reflected the night sky, and shone like a beacon in the dark. So bright, and gentle, and kind (and again, that irritating voice, niggling in the back of his mind questioned the truth of those descriptions). His moon, he decided one day after working up the courage to invite the charming brit to his house. He said as much, refusing to acknowledge the embarrassed heat in his cheeks for saying something so seemingly cheesy. Newt simply looked at him for a couple moments before smiling, something sad lingering behind the tender gaze. Later that night, when he was lying in bed, stuck between the land of wakefulness and sleep, he felt hands laying on either side of his cheeks.

"If I am the moon, my love, then you are the sun. Yes, you are a creature of light, so good and warm, and I. I am a creature of the dark. The moon is but a mere reflection of the sun's brilliant blaze. Sometimes the two may be seen together, but there is a reason the moon shines brightest, alone in the night."

His hazy mind couldn't quite comprehend the soothing tones of Newt's rich tenor. He only managed a questioning noise before drifting off to the sensation of gentle fingers through his hair. When he woke up, it was to the hollow feeling of an absent partner and a single note placed on the pillow next to him. It said,

_"My sun, keep burning bright so that the moon may guide you safely from darkness."_

And somehow, it felt like he was being spared.

I imagine that Graves holds a special place in his heart. He spared him from the pain of eventually finding out again, spared him from the betrayal. But Newt doesn't see it as a betrayal, really, despite what Percival and Theseus may think. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, after all. I think he believes that if he could be the buffer that takes the blow for all the cruelties of the world, maybe he could spare these two from breaking any further. He's watched them from the sidelines for too long. These two men with such goodness in their hearts, that they spare even the most filthy of human scum.

These two men, who mean the world to him.

I like the idea of Newt striking fear into the hearts of those remaining, warning them to stay away from both directors of America and England  _or there shall be hell to pay_. Those who don't concede meet a fate far messier than simply disappearing- his dear lethifold, though efficient, wasn't the only thing he had up his sleeve (literally and figuratively). Mother of monsters indeed. In the coming years, casualties occur, but it's never Percival nor Theseus, and that's enough for Newt. In just this, he allows himself to be selfish.

His rib cage, after all, holds the most monstrous of beasts; his heart.

\-----------

vaderina:

Because what if, as you say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. And Newt's empire just keeps growing and growing to the point it starts attracting more attention from the law all round the world. He thinks he can handle it, keep everyone safe. Except he makes a mistake. Just a small tiny one but it's enough to topple this house of cards he's built around himself. He escapes. Just. But it doesn't matter anymore because his identity has been revealed on an international platform. While he has hidey-holes around the world to run to his brother and Percival aren't so lucky. So Newt gets to watch from the fringes of society as his brother and once upon a time lover are dragged through the mud, ridiculed, stripped of all honour and dignity purely because of their relation to him. Everything Newt had worked towards falls apart which is bad enough to see. But having those who he tried to desperately to protect at all costs be brought down to his level? He's not sure if he can live with that.

\--------------

ladymischief:

I can't imagine though- if Newt isn't there to wrangle everything together, the world would erupt into chaos- criminals would become bolder, start doing acts more and more daring. The world isn't prepared for that, they've become somewhat lenient, less prepared. And the criminals know that without the shadow to keep them in line, they're able to get away- they're not scared of the authority. Not after what they've experienced under Newt's reign.   
People die, it's bad- the authorities are getting more and more desperate. What are they going to do?

\------------------

vaderina:

You know what they say about dark times? The darker the times the large the shadow. And that's exactly what happens. The authorities get swamped, they can't control or contain the resurfacing of criminals who were too scared to come out until knowledge of The Shadow's identity and apparent disappearance is widely known. They want their revenge and they'll take it out on anyone in their way.

While Theseus and Graves were initially imprisoned to lure Newt out, they're now released without further charges. The cells are too full of real criminals and they've not brought Newt to the authorities so they're no longer useful. But they're tarnished, isolated by the accusations and have nothing left. Their possessions had been seized and sold to fund their legal costs. They have no jobs and an ocean separates them so they can't even have each other for sympathetic comfort.

That's how Newt finds them. He was in Oceania on an island so New York is quicker to get to. Graves is not happy to see him. Initially neither of them quite recognises the other. Newt has cut his hair, switched out his coat and acquired a few more scars. He had a run in with an ice dragon which scorched up the side of his neck and caught the edges of his face in an icy torrent. Newt bore the swirling scars along with the suddenly ice cold colour of his eye.

It makes Graves flinch initially and think of Grindelwald with his mismatched eyes. Worry seeps through him that perhaps it was all an elaborate hoax by Grindelwald just to torture him some more. Except it's Newt, and hazy memories of Grindelwald under a heavy black cloud surface. Newt coaxes him through it all, gentle reminders of who he is. Where he is when the memories threaten to sweep him away. When all is done, the anger and betrayal only a simmering bubble rather than a seething roar they make their way to England together for Theseus.

The world slowly returns to order after that. Because even if the light of the authority dispels the shadow it only means it gets darker in the corners it can't reach. And when the light has burned itself out, darkness reigns and multiplies. In this instance is had tripled.

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi on tumblr - I'm @ladyoftheshrimp


End file.
